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PNS Daily Newscast - January 21, 2019

Could the nation’s airports be the next pressure points in the government shutdown? Also on our Monday rundown: Calls go out to improve food safety; and a new report renews calls for solutions to Detroit’s water woes.

Planned Parenthood, its Iowa chapter and the American Civil Liberties Union Iowa branch said the law passed by Iowa legislators and signed by the governor is unconstitutional. It bans nearly all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur about six weeks into a pregnancy and often before a woman realizes she's pregnant.

In the 45 years since abortion was legalized, said Rita Bettis, ACLU of Iowa legal director, no federal or state court has upheld this type of law.

"We have asked the court for a temporary injunction so that the law will not take effect during the period of time that we're litigating it, so that Iowa women will be protected from it during that time," she said.

Iowa plans to be represented in the case by the Thomas More Society after Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, announced he would not defend the statute, saying it "undermines rights and protections for women."

Republican lawmakers who passed the law anticipated it would face a court challenge. They hope it will make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court and result in the reversal of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Bettis said the groups filing the lawsuit want speedy attention from the court system, since they believe the law poses a danger to women's health.

"We have asked the court to move quickly to set the matter for an expedited hearing," she said, "so that that temporary injunction can be decided on before the law is due to take effect, which is July 1."

According to Iowa Planned Parenthood, 2,300 abortions were performed at its facilities last year, and 98 percent of those would have been illegal under Iowa's new law.